The Celestion Alnicos in our test amp are the top-of-the-line variants, and push the retail price of this amp well over the $2,000 threshold. And no, it’s not point-to-point wired, a fact reflected in its low price compared to a vintage original. Some may be disappointed in the fact that the amp is made in China, but there’s no longer a production amplifier on the market, whether made in England, the U.S., or anywhere else, that can surpass the craftsmanship of this amp – period. Its grillecloth and piping are executed perfectly, as well. The chassis is mounted in an extremely well-built marine-grade plywood cab covered in standard Vox tolex. The workmanship of the AC30CC2X is flawless.
Power and standby switches are also located on the top panel. The top panel hosts the standard AC30 features, including Normal and Top-Boost inputs, Normal channel volume, Top Boost channel volume, Treble and Bass controls, Tone and Mix controls, and a Drive switch for the reverb, Speed and Depth controls for the tremolo, and a Tone Cut control. The latter two are on a back panel that also houses external speaker jacks, impedance selector switch, effects loop jacks, level and loop-bypass switches, and an input for the dual on/off footswitch for the reverb/tremolo. More subtle additions include a channel-combining switch, Brilliance switch in the normal channel, Standard/Custom switch for the top-boost tone controls, output bias switch, and a Smoothing switch (which changes the values of the filter caps). These include reverb, effects loop, and master volume. Some major features were added to benefit the modern player, while retaining the classic AC30 tone. The AC30CC2X is a 30-watt class A circuit using three 12AX7 preamp tubes, a 5AR4 rectifier tube, and four EL84 power tubes. It soon became a huge part of what became known as the “British sound.” In the four decades since, numerous parent companies have owned Vox, but the AC30 has always been part of its line, remaining relatively untouched. The AC30 was the product of the furtive mind of Dick Denny, and Vox debuted the amp in 1959. Vox, today a subsidiary of Korg, recently began making a high-end reissue of its famed 30-watt amp in several configurations, and offered to let us take a look at its latest – the AC30 Custom Classic (CC) with two 12″ Alnico-magnet Celestion speakers. Small wonder that the legendary tone of a Vox AC30 is the reference used by so many of today’s boutique amp builders. When most guitarists think of Vox amps, memories abound of the British Invasion and all of the artists – famous, semi-famous, and not-so-famous – who used them at the time.
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